Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Japan Foundation sponsored Shoso Shimbo's Ikebana performance at the Snow Travel Expo 2016 in Melbourne. This was Shoso's second Ikebana performance in May 2016 and he used a very different approach here from his first performance. http://www.shoso.com.au/2016/05/ikebana-performance.html

Ikebana means "to bring flowers to life". Flowers in the fields are alive and in harmony with nature, but once they are cut, separated from nature, they are dying biologically as well as symbolically. Ikebana artists’ job is to give the dying flowers new life. This can't be achieved by simply copying nature. Through a wholistic engagement with the flower, the Ikebana practitioner tries to access the essential life force of the flowers on many levels, physically, psychologically and spiritually. This collaborative process with nature is always thrilling and healing. In this performance I would like to share with the audience the meditative process of creating the work as much as the end product.

Monday, 2 May 2016

I have been writing about the relationship between contemporary art and Ikebana. A key question is whether Ikebana can seek meaning through its contexts like contemporary art can. Probably there is no right answer to this question and there may be many answers.One of the most important aspects of context is that it goes with critiques. An example is in academic discourses. A great number of PhD students every year study contemporary art for their thesis.On the other hand, very few academic papers on Ikebana have been published. In terms of critiques, there is no comparison between Ikebana and contemporary art. It seems to be obvious that Ikebana cannot seek meanings like contemporary art does.Nevertheless, I would like to seek the possibility of Ikebana being effective in the context of contemporary art.This is one of the 2 works I made for the Wye River Project as part of the Lorne Sculpture 2016. I transformed my sculpture into Ikebana by adding flowers. While my sculpture demands viewers to use imagination to appreciate it, I feel my Ikebana is appealing more directly to the senses of the viewers. Compared to contemporary art, Ikebana may expect its viewers to be more passive. That was one of a few things I noticed this time.http://www.shoso.com.auhttps://www.facebook.com/ikebanaaustralia